Long ago, most companies saw workplace productivity as solely driven by technology, strategy, and financial investment. This narrative is changing as companies across sectors are beginning to pay attention to the silent echoes of evidence that productivity is also driven by workers who are healthy, nourished, and able to thrive.
That message came through strongly during the recent Workforce Nutrition Alliance Symposium, themed “Building Resilient Businesses Through Workforce Nutrition”, which was held on April 21st in The Hague, Netherlands, where 40 business leaders, researchers, policymakers, and development organisations gathered to explore the growing role of workforce nutrition in building healthier people, stronger businesses, and more resilient economies.
Speakers included representatives from the Consumer Goods Forum (CGF), Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), the International Labour Organization (ILO), the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ajinomoto, JDE Peet’s, ofi, Nudge to Nourish, the Access to Nutrition Initiative (ATNI), and the World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA).
Workforce Nutrition is Moving into the Mainstream
For a long time, workplace wellness programmes were treated as optional extras. Today, that thinking is rapidly changing. Businesses are increasingly dealing with burnout, absenteeism, rising healthcare costs, workforce fatigue, and growing concerns around employee wellbeing. At the same time, workers are expecting employers to create healthier and more supportive work environments. This is where workforce nutrition is gaining global momentum.
Companies are beginning to adopt more intentional and evidence-based approaches that support workers through the four pillars of workforce nutrition, including the provision of healthy food, nutrition education, breastfeeding support, and nutrition-focused health checks.
Over the last five years, the Workforce Nutrition Alliance (WNA) has helped accelerate workforce nutrition efforts globally. According to Sharon Bligh, Director, Health & Sustainability, CGF, WNA programmes have already reached 6.7 million workers and supply-chain communities, surpassing the alliance’s interim target of 3 million people. The alliance now aims to reach 10 million people by 2030.
The Business Case is Becoming Impossible to Ignore
One of the most memorable moments came from Chavanne Hanson, the founder of Nudge to Nourish, and a former Googler. She shared a simple but powerful reminder:
“The most important technology in any workplace is the human brain. And like any engine, the brain needs fuel.”
According to insights shared during the symposium, employees with poor nutritional habits are 66% more likely to experience productivity drops. That reality affects not only workers but also business performance. Therefore, investing in workforce nutrition leads to measurable improvements in employee engagement, productivity, morale, retention, and workforce resilience. She noted that WNA tools are helping companies move beyond vague wellbeing conversations toward measurable and data-driven action.
Companies including Ajinomoto, Ofi, and JDE Peet’s shared real experiences, real challenges, and real progress. Ajinomoto Group, represented by Yuki Okabe, the General Manager, Nutrition & Wellness shared how workforce nutrition can become part of the core business strategy. By embedding nutrition into workplace culture, Ajinomoto has reached more than 122,000 employees with nutrition education, exceeding its target while improving its Workforce Nutrition Scorecard performance by 17%. But perhaps the most meaningful outcome was behavioural change. Almost all employees were not just receiving information, they were actively making healthier choices in their daily lives.
Meanwhile, Ofi, represented by Mirjam Kneepkens, Nutrition & Health Manager, demonstrated how their nutrition initiatives are reaching factory workers, farming households, and rural communities across global agricultural supply chains. One particularly moving example came from Côte d’Ivoire, where the company’s digital malnutrition screening initiative helped screen more than 115,000 children in farming communities in 2025 alone. Ofi also highlighted that when employees gain access to healthier food, better nutrition knowledge, and supportive workplace policies, the benefits often extend to children, households, communities, and future generations.
Healthy Workers Strengthen Supply Chains
The symposium also highlighted the close connection between nutrition and economic resilience. JDE Peet’s shared lessons from tea estates in Assam, India, where anaemia among workers was directly affecting productivity and income.
Workers experiencing anaemia were harvesting less tea and losing wages as a result. But targeted nutrition interventions helped improve diets, increase access to fortified foods, and strengthen healthier eating habits across entire communities.
- Increased fortified oil consumption by 24%
- Increased consumption of Vitamin A-rich foods by 36%
Supply chains cannot remain resilient if workers themselves are struggling with malnutrition, poor health, and preventable nutrition-related illnesses.
One of the symposium’s most important discussions explored a critical question: What pushes companies to take workforce nutrition seriously and continue improving over time?
During a panel discussion moderated by Chioma Doris Nnabugwu, Senior Associate on WFN, GAIN, and speakers from Access to Nutrition Initiative – Mark Wijne, Research Director, and Christina Nyhus Dhillon, Research Lead, Healthy Diets from GAIN, unpacked the growing role of accountability frameworks, benchmarking, and transparency in driving change. The conversation highlighted that businesses are increasingly responding to:
- and growing global scrutiny around worker wellbeing.
Speakers explained that benchmarking does more than create rankings. It helps companies identify gaps, encourages leadership buy-in, stimulates investment, and strengthens internal accountability. Importantly, workforce nutrition is increasingly becoming part of broader sustainability and ESG conversations, a sign that worker wellbeing is no longer viewed as separate from responsible business performance. The panel also highlighted a growing opportunity for governments, labour systems, and global institutions to help embed workforce nutrition into broader accountability and policy frameworks.
Nutrition is Becoming Part of the Occupational Safety and Health Conversation
One of the most forward-looking conversations during the symposium came from Joaquim Nunes, Branch Chief, Occupational Safety and Health, International Labour Organization (ILO). In his video, he explored the growing opportunity to integrate nutrition into occupational safety and health frameworks globally. Workforce nutrition is no longer being viewed only as a corporate wellbeing initiative. Increasingly, it is becoming part of broader conversations around worker protection, labour rights, occupational health, and long-term workforce resilience.
The Future of Work Must Include Nutrition
Closing the symposium, Bärbel Weiligmann, Global Lead Workforce Nutrition, GAIN, reflected on the remarkable progress workforce nutrition has made over the last few years, from a relatively niche conversation to a growing global movement shaping how businesses think about worker wellbeing, productivity, and resilience.
Building on this, Steve Godfrey, Director of Policy and External Relations, GAIN, highlighted the importance of sustaining momentum through stronger partnerships, policy engagement, and collective action across sectors.
Thijs Woudstra, Head of Unit International Food Security and Nutrition, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Netherlands, also noted the critical role of collaboration between governments, businesses, donors, and development organisations in helping workforce nutrition scale beyond individual programmes into broader systems and strategies.
Together, the closing reflections pointed to a shared reality: healthier workplaces are essential for stronger economies, resilient supply chains, and sustainable development.